The BM influence is still quite obviously there, shoegaze does NOT have guitar work that "heavy" and neither does it EVER contain blastbeats, typically.
Yes, but those are very minuscule and quite basic traits, especially in comparison to Alcest's earlier material. The black metal element is very much gone yet for many this is the 'black metal album of the year.'
Anyways, a gay band would be incredibly entertaining... and maybe a little ironic, if they happened to be power metal? The congestion of homophobia in most metal communities is about as bad as a typical LA commute.